Abstract
Human settlement process in Mauritius started in 1715 and by the 1960s the population had reached above 660,000 people. Life expectancy was below 60 years and the population pyramid suggested a young and growing population. The population has now doubled, life expectancy has risen to 75 years, and the population pyramid has meanwhile evolved to a stationary one. As the population ages, the country faces new challenges. The continuous rise in the dependency ratio represents a concern not only for the elderly but for the whole population, because of its impact on the labour force, economic prospects for the country, income security for the elderly, and the risk of increased poverty. Mauritius has adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the fight against poverty and social exclusion remains a priority. This chapter provides some insights into the new challenges for the nation by focusing on the financial security of the elderly as well as some elements of healthy ageing.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Battersby Report (1998) Review of Mauritius National Pension Fund. Government Actuary Department, London
Berkman LF, Glass T, Brissette I, Seeman TE (2000) From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium. Social science & medicine 51(6):843–857
Butler RN (1969) Ageism: another form of bigotry. Gerontologist 9(4_Part_1):243–246
CEIC (2020) Mauritius MU: life expectancy at birth [online] Available at < https://www.ceicdata.com/en/mauritius/demographic-projection/mu-life-expectancy-at-birth#:~> Accessed on 01/09/2020
David MA, Petri MM (2013) Inclusive growth and the incidence of Fiscal Policy in Mauritius: much progress, but more could be done (IMF Working Paper No. 13–116). [online] Available at: <https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2016/12/31/Inclusive-Growth-and-the-Incidence-of-Fiscal-Policy-in-Mauritius-Much-Progress-But-More-40552> Accessed 23/09/2020
Fonad E, Wahlin TBR, Heikkila K, Emami A (2006) Moving to and living in a retirement home: Focusing on elderly people’s sense of safety and security. J Hous Elder 20(3):45–60. Frank Cass and Company, London
Galea G, Huber M (2012) Strategy and action plan for healthy ageing in Europe, 2012–2020. WHO Regional Committee for Europe, 62nd Session
Goswami S, Köbler F, Leimeister JM, Krcmar H (2010) Using online social networking to enhance social connectedness and social support for the elderly. Human Behavior and IT. [online] Available at: <https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/220640/1/JML_234.pdf> Accessed 12/10/2020
Islam T, Newhouse D, Yanez-Pagans M (2018) International comparisons of poverty in South Asia. World Bank Policy Paper Number WPS 8683 [online] Available at: <https://openknowledge.worldbank.org> Accessed 24/11/2020
Patureau JM (1988) Histoire Economique de l’Ile Maurice, Mauritius. Presse de Henry & CIE. LTEE
Pinquart M, Sorensen S (2001) Influences on loneliness in older adults: a meta-analysis. Basic Appl Soc Psychol 23(4):245–266
Schumacher KL, Meleis AL (1994) Transitions: a central concept in nursing. Image J Nurs Scholarsh 26(2):119–127
Soto S, Thakoor V, Petri M (2015) Pension reforms in Mauritius: fair and fast—balancing social protection and fiscal sustainability. (IMF Working Paper No. 15/126) [online] Available at: <https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2015/wp15126.pdf> Accessed on 23/09/2020
Statistics Mauritius (2017) Poverty analysis 2017 [online] Available at: <https://statsmauritius.govmu.org/Pages/Statistics/By_Subject/Poverty/SB_Poverty.aspx> Accessed 24/11/2020
Titmus R, Abel-Smith B (1968) Report of the committee on population. Frank Cass and Company, London
Trentham B, Sokoloff S, Tsang A, Neysmith S (2015) Social media and senior citizen advocacy: an inclusive tool to resist ageism? Polit Gr Ident 3(3):558–571
Wang Y, Zhou C (2020) Promoting social engagement of the elderly to cope with aging of the Chinese population. BioSci Trend 14(4):310–313
Willmore L (2003) Universal pensions in Mauritius: lessons for the rest of us. United Nations DESA Discussion Paper, (32), pp. 1–27
World Bank (2020) Poverty. [online] Available at: <https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty> Accessed 24/11/2020
World Bank Group (2020) Monitoring the socio-economic effects COVID-19 on Mauritian Households. [online] Available at: <https://www.npccmauritius.org/images/download/116.pdf> Accessed 20/10/2020
World Data Atlas (2020) Dependency ratio. [online] Available at: <https://knoema.com/search?query=dependency+ratio+mauritius&pageIndex=&scope=&term=&correct=&source=Header> Accessed 24/11/2020
World Health Organisation (2020) Ageing: healthy ageing and functional ability. [online] Available at: <https://www.who.int/westernpacific/news/q-a-detail/ageing-healthy-ageing-and-functional-ability> Accessed 24/11/2020
Worldometers (2020) Mauritius demographics 2020 (population, age, sex, trends) – worldometer. [online] Available at: <https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/mauritius-demographics/> Accessed 24/11/2020
Zafar (2011) Chapter 5: Mauritius: an economic success story [online] Available at: <http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/304221468001788072/930107812_2014082530900808/additional/634310PUB0Yes0061512B09780821387450.pdf> Accessed 24/11/2020
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jouan, K., Rowtho, V., Rughoobur-Seetah, S., Hosanoo, Z., Ramloll, C. (2022). Ageing Population, the Poverty Nexus and Wellbeing of Elderly in Mauritius. In: Dhakal, S., Nankervis, A., Burgess, J. (eds) Ageing Asia and the Pacific in Changing Times. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6663-6_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6663-6_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-16-6662-9
Online ISBN: 978-981-16-6663-6
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)